Ridgway grew up around a railroad, and a museum keeps that story

Ridgway sits in the open valley north of Ouray, where the mountains give way to ranch land. The town is there because of a railroad. Around 1890 it was laid out as the northern end of Otto Mears’ narrow-gauge Rio Grande Southern Railroad, the point where his new line met the existing Denver and Rio Grande tracks in the valley. For decades Ridgway was the hinge that connected the high mining country to the wider rail network.

That heritage is still front and center in town. The Ridgway Railroad Museum, run by a local nonprofit, gathers equipment, photos, and stories from the Rio Grande Southern era. One of the line’s best-remembered features was the “Galloping Goose,” homemade railcars built in the 1930s from automobile bodies to haul mail, freight, and a few passengers cheaply after the silver economy faded.

Knowing this helps the town make sense. The wide streets and the ranching culture around them grew out of Ridgway’s role as a rail and shipping point rather than a mining camp like Ouray. It is a different origin story for two towns only a short drive apart.

Before visiting, check the museum’s current hours and any event schedules, since they change by season. For the town’s own telling of its railroad beginnings, see the Town of Ridgway and the Ridgway Railroad Museum, with broader sourced history at History Colorado.